A successful journalist has to know something of everything and in a way everything of something. He should have the knowledge of law, religion, science, business, politics, war, economics etc.
He should also be interested in philosophy, music, sports and other cultural activities. In fact, a journalist should have a vast general knowledge, because the more the general knowledge he possesses, the better equipped he will be for the journalistic work.
A journalist should be a voracious reader of newspapers, magazines, journals, books, periodicals etc. In fact, there is no end to the knowledge and as far as the knowledge of a journalist is concerned, sky is the limit.
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Therefore, he should try to learn every new thing which comes in his way. He should have a very strong desire for learning new subjects and new things to increase his knowledge, only then he can go far in this profession.
A person who wants to become a successful journalist must be far-sighted and resourceful. He will also learn a lot by experience. But he should try to develop the qualities of fact, diplomacy and remaining alert all the time from the very beginning.
He should also possess the quality of perseverance which will help him greatly in achieving success in his career. He should be mentally prepared to work long hours and do hard tedious work.
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A person who wants to join the profession of journalism should also have sound body. A good health is very necessary, for a person who gets tired after a little extra exertion or suffers from headaches and body aches, very often may not be able to remain long in this profession, because a journalist has to undergo the strain of long hours of arduous work. Thus, a journalist must have a sound mind and sound body.
In this profession, he may have to travel a lot, in the city, in the interior areas and may be in different parts of his country.
Sometimes, he may also have to travel to foreign lands as foreign reporter to perform his journalistic assignments. He should be mentally and physically prepared for all this, because when one leaves one’s home and goes to a foreign land, one becomes highly homesick.
He may also have to travel day and night in strange places to meet all sorts of people. Sometimes, a journalist may be given a courteous welcome, whereas at other times he may have to face harsh treatment.
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While covering the war news, a journalist may have to endanger his life for the sake of his profession. A person who wants to enter the profession of journalism should have a lot of guts and courage.
He should be bold and courageous in the moment of a crisis, especially when covering riots, communal disturbances, workers’ demonstrations etc. He may also have to be present at the scene of a lathi charge, police firing, or teargas. He should have the stamina to undergo all these physical strains, stresses and risks.
Like a soldier, he cannot back out from such dangerous situations involving physical risks, once he has been assigned the duty to cover such events. Many a time you must have read in the newspapers how journalists have to suffer lives while covering a battle, communal riot or some police firing.
There is a lot of competition in the profession of a journalist and the newcomer has to work hard especially in the first few years to learn the basic things of this profession.
The life of journalist has much compensation like high rewards—when a person has established himself as famous journalist and writer- incessant change, a career full of adventure, meeting very important persons like big businessmen, famous industrialists, ministers, Prime Ministers, Kings, Presidents and other very important persons.
A journalist goes everywhere and sees both the good and bad things of life behind the scenes, but his life is not a bed of roses.
On the other hand, it is full of constant struggle, because a journalist works in a highly competitive profession where only the fittest and the ablest survive. An incapable and inefficient person cannot survive in this profession for a long time.
A journalist may not earn a very handsome salary in the very beginning of his career. When he starts his career, he may even have to work as an apprentice or as a junior for few years to learn the rudiments of this profession.
During this period, he will have to content himself with an income which may not be very high. Of course, when he has proved his worth and knows his work thoroughly, he will have ample chances of progress and promotion in his career and earn a handsome salary.
Journalism is very competitive profession now-a-days. The progress and success of a journalist depends solely on his worth and merit. He may get many chances to rise in his career, but it depends upon him how he makes the most of these chances which come in his way.
Once he has established himself as a good journalist, he will start earning a very comfortable and high salary according to his worth. The famous journalists in this profession draw higher salaries with many fringe benefits.
It is a profession where only the proficient and the best candidate have a chance to reach the top. There are many top journalists and editors in the field of journalism who joined as juniors and learnt the art of journalism through their hard work.
Even today, there are many chances for the brilliant young men and women who have the ambition to join this profession, provided they have strong will power to undergo the hard life, especially in the beginning of their career.
No doubt, once a new entrant establishes himself as a good journalist, and then life becomes a smooth sailing for him to a great extent. Learning all the techniques of the profession of journalism by going through the mill is the only sure and certain road to success.